Mohsen Modiri

About Mohsen Modiri

Art Categories: Being involved in visual arts, music, and literature since adolescence

Education
Bachelor of Biology from Tehran University, Iran

Art Activities
Spending over 35 years in visual arts
Attending in some domestic and international group exhibitions from 1971 to 2000

Exhibitions and Achievements
- Selected, Exhibited and Sold in Italy, Belgium, France, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Iran and United States

Further Information
- Organizer of Drawing and Photo Exhibitions for Artists in the University
- Professional Graphic Designer for almost 10 years
- Caricaturist for almost 22 years (1978-2000)

Other Skills and Past Professions
- Music Center Management and Familiarity with Musical Instruments
- Contributing to Music Therapy Association
- Publishing short stories and articles in Professional Editing Publications
- Publishing the Collection of Poems called "unity", Fall 2015

Returning to Visual Arts
After a gap of 12 years in visual art, Starting to Work on Visual Arts (Post Modern Abstract) since 2012

Artist Statement

The style of most of my works is rooted in abstract expressionism, which is my favorite style. Color functions as the dominant expressive tool in my paintings, whose themes include the earth, movement and stillness, elements of urban life, and the human nature. Using specific movement and color composition to express the earth as the mother and cradle of mankind in an abstract form is a type of grounding.

In Greek mythology, Atlas, one of the Titans, fought against the Olympians and other gods and was sentenced by Zeus to carry the earth and heavens upon his shoulders. In my works, I use personal symbols related to earth and some mythological figures like Atlas and Huma, a Persian mythical bird that is the symbol of prosperity. The contemporary man resembles Dr. Ryan Stone in Alfonso Cuarón's “Gravity” played by Sandra Bullock, who has been disconnected from earth, his mother and cradle, and lives a life of chronic stress and tension. I try to bond my audience to earth, and reintroduce them to serenity and security, which is idiomatically called grounding.

The contemporary human has fallen apart from nature, and should return to this lost nature and support the planet earth. Still, I am not a naturalist. I used to be a naturalist, but now I look to the earthly life and human being as the most excellent manifestation of nature, and I follow modernism. However, regarding color composition I aim for color unity, and I derive inspirations from old masters.

Artists have always expressed the sufferings of humanity throughout history, whereas art is also capable of contributing to humanity’s awakening and freedom from pain and suffering. Since 2017, I have been focusing my attention on the subjects of humanity, moral values, and emotional qualities of humans. Old ideals of the mankind such as unity, solidarity, altruism, seeking freedom, sincerity and empathy, righteousness and honesty, absence of violence and peace and so on are the theme of new series entitled “self devotion” and “A World that is my Dream".